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After Bengaluru FC held Odisha FC to a goalless draw earlier in the day, Jamshedpur FC and Kerala Blasters shared the spoils in a 1-1 stalemate in the ISL at the JRD Tata Stadium on Saturday.
Goals from Dimitrios Diamantakos and Javier Siverio gave each team the hope that there was more to come - indeed the second half promised much - but in the end, they had to share points.
Kerala Blasters' coach Ivan Vukomanovic, under fire for his team's lacklustre performances before the international break, will feel that this result gives him a bit of breathing space as everyone knows how tough it is to win at the Furnace in Jamshedpur.
Having secured a point from this encounter, the Blasters remain in the fifth position of the league table, with their qualification for the ISL playoffs all but secured. The Red Miners are in the seventh position at the moment with 21 points to their name.
A battle won by the goalkeepers of either side
Diamantakos gave the Tuskers the lead in the 23rd minute when he led the charge by dissecting a disciplined Jamshedpur defensive unit. Pratik Chaudhari picked up a yellow card in the seventh minute of the game, turning it into the first moment of significance.
Diamantakos found himself with just a bit of space when he was played on by Justine Emmanuel and beat PC Laldinpuia's far-reaching embraces. With his back to the goal at first, the Greek turned with utmost vigour, put his left foot through the ball and found the back of the net comfortably.
Former Hyderabad FC and East Bengal star Javier Siverio, however, equalised for the Red Miners in fine fashion when he picked up an aesthetic-looking long ball from Brazilian centre-back Elsinho.
The Tuskers' central defenders Marko Leskovic and Milos Drincic were found napping as the Spaniard made the most of his headstart on them. Goalkeeper Kamaljit Singh splayed his arms about helplessly even as the ball drifted past him.
Kamaljit, however, was to play a crucial role in denying the hosts from getting ahead in the dying stages of the game when substitute Alen Stevanovic was played through and clear on goal only to be denied by the former's gloves.
Moments before this TP Rehenesh had effected an equally wonderful save at the other side of the park when Fedor Cernych thought it prudent to test the Kozhikode-born goalkeeper's strong handling skills.
The whistle blew soon enough, and both teams took a point from this rather thrilling encounter which could have gone either way if not for the heroics of their respective goalkeepers.
Jamshedpur will next travel to Chennai to take on the Marina Machans on April 4, whereas Kerala Blasters host heavyweights and legacy club East Bengal a day before that in Kochi.
